Roberts Manufacturing Co. Limited, the 80-year-old Barbadian manufacturer of margarines, shortening, edible oils and animal feeds, closed off its public share offer with major participation from Barbadians.
“The response of Barbadian investors to this offer has been outstanding, and we are deeply grateful for it. We were particularly heartened that one of Barbados’ major long-horizon institutional investors alone subscribed for approximately 20 per cent of the offer – a substantial vote of confidence in the company’s long-term prospects,” said Garfield Sinclair, chair of the company.
The manufacturer distributes in 15 Caribbean markets and in a recent statement said the outcome of the offer was notable for the “breadth and quality of participation from across the Barbadian financial landscape”.
Subscriptions were received from more than 1 600 retail investors, including Roberts’ employees; statutory pension and social insurance funds; other defined-benefit and defined-contribution pension funds; mutual fund managers, including the largest in the market; the credit union sector; insurance companies and other regulated financial institutions along with corporate investors.
“The offer also drew material participation from beyond Barbados, including a leading Eastern Caribbean fund manager – an early signal of cross-border institutional interest in RMCO as a regional issuer.
Participation
“This breadth of participation reflects the depth of confidence that Barbadian savers, fiduciaries and institutions place in a company that has manufactured here, employed Barbadians here, and exported from here for eight decades,” a press statement read.
The response also reflected the central purpose of the offer of placing direct equity ownership of a profitable, “established company into the hands of Barbadians from every walk of life”.
The board and management thanked every investor who subscribed for shares in the offer.
“Statutory and private pension funds, mutual fund managers, the credit union sector, insurers, corporates and over 1 600 retail investors – including over 130 employees – have together built one of the most diverse and high-quality shareholder registers seen on the Barbados Stock Exchange in many years.
“Roberts Manufacturing is now, in a way it has never been before, owned by the country it has served for eight decades. We will work hard, every day, to reward that confidence,” Sinclair stated. ( PR/AC)
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